Chapter 43: Can a Gloomy Extra Be Locked in a Dark Room? [9]

Chapter 43: Will the Gloomy Cannon Fodder Be Locked in a Small Dark Room? "9"

Mu Jin looked at Ji Fengyan and blinked softly, saying nothing. He could tell Ji Fengyan didn't seem to like what he'd made.

But he'd only come to deliver food to Ji Fengyan today as a pretext to install the surveillance camera without raising suspicion.

Now that he'd achieved his goal, he naturally wouldn't be coming back to bring Ji Fengyan meals, let alone cook for him.

"Alright, I'm just about done here. What do you want to eat today? I'll take you out."

Ji Fengyan set the food down with a smile and was about to take Mu Jin out for something to eat when he saw Mu Jin polish off the remaining meat patties.

A hint of panic slipped into Ji Fengyan's voice: "A Jin..."

Mu Jin looked at him with confusion: "What's wrong?"

Ji Fengyan stared at those blackened meat patties, hesitating: "Maybe you shouldn't eat those, though."

Mu Jin was even more confused: "But they're cooked, so they're fine to eat."

In fact, Mu Jin could even eat raw food, but he didn't particularly like it—he preferred cooked food.

Ji Fengyan was momentarily at a loss for words, his feelings growing even more tangled.

He'd initially thought Mu Jin just had a big appetite, but now it seemed Mu Jin could eat absolutely anything without being picky.

This realization made Ji Fengyan's heart ache inexplicably, and a vague panic spread through him.

Ji Fengyan turned away, breathing hard. In his twenty-plus years, he'd never felt anything like this, and it left him bewildered.

While Ji Fengyan was hesitating, Mu Jin had already quietly finished off the meat patties and fish soup.

Mu Jin stood up: "I'm heading back to the flower shop."

Ji Fengyan stood up too: "I'll walk you back."

Mu Jin didn't refuse, but he hadn't expected that the moment they stepped out the door, one right after the other, they'd run into Wen Yihe.

Wen Yihe raised an eyebrow at the two of them: "Feng Yan, A Jin, what a coincidence. Didn't expect to run into both of you here today."

"Feng Yan, since you're still here, I've got a project I think you'd be interested in, so I brought it along to check out."

Wen Yihe said with a smile, holding up the documents in his hand.

Ji Fengyan said flatly: "I still have some matters to handle today. We'll talk about the project another day."

Wen Yihe wasn't bothered by the rejection and just shrugged:

"Ah, I see. Well, I've got nothing else going on today anyway, so I'll tag along with you two."

"Oh, by the way, A Jin, my birthday is coming up in a while. Don't forget to come to my birthday party."

As he spoke, Wen Yihe whipped out an invitation and handed it to Mu Jin.

Lately, Wen Yihe had been trying to meet up with Mu Jin, but Mu Jin had refused every time.

And with Ye Luochen always dropping by Mu Jin's place, plus Ji Fengyan being wary of him, Wen Yihe couldn't just show up at the flower shop either.

Now that he'd finally grabbed the chance, Wen Yihe naturally wasn't going to let it slip by.

Ji Fengyan watched Wen Yihe pull out the invitation so smoothly and couldn't help narrowing his eyes.

Now he was sure—Wen Yihe hadn't come here today to discuss any project with him at all. He'd only come to hand Mu Jin an invitation.

So Wen Yihe had planted someone on his side too, with such good information...

Ji Fengyan sneered inwardly. He'd have to do some serious housecleaning when he got back.

Mu Jin looked at the invitation and accepted it: "Thank you. If I'm free, I'll definitely come."

Wen Yihe smiled, not answering, and instead asked: "By the way, what were you two up to?"

Mu Jin: "Heading back to the flower shop."

Ji Fengyan: "Walking A Jin back to the shop, then taking him home for dinner tonight."

Mu Jin tilted his head and looked at Ji Fengyan, confused: "Hm?"

When had he said he was going back to Ji Fengyan's for dinner?

Was Auntie Ji missing him?

Come to think of it, it really had been a while since he'd seen Auntie Ji.

Mu Jin thought for a moment and gave another "Mm."

A flicker of unreadable emotion flashed through Wen Yihe's eyes.

"In that case, I'll come check out the flower shop as well. I was actually planning to buy some flowers today anyway, to visit a friend."

With an excuse like that, neither of them could refuse, so they had no choice but to let him tag along.

The three of them walked back to the flower shop without a word. Fortunately, Wen Yihe did buy a bouquet and left shortly after, which cheered Ji Fengyan up quite a bit.

Wen Yihe wasn't lying to Mu Jin—he really had bought the flowers to visit someone.

After leaving the flower shop, he went straight to the hospital to see Mu Yu, who was still in the hospital after getting jumped and beaten with a sack over his head.

Pushing open the hospital room door, Wen Yihe set the flowers down with a smile and casually pulled a chair over to sit by the bed.

"Mu Yu, long time no see."

Mu Yu stared at Wen Yihe warily, a guarded look in his eyes, even as he spoke with a smile:

"Mr. Wen, it really has been a while. I wonder what brings you here all of a sudden?"

Wen Yihe picked up a fruit knife from the side and began peeling an apple: "Just came to see you, of course."

"We're not at the office now, and this isn't business, so drop the 'Mr. Wen' and just call me Yihe."

"I heard you had a little accident a while back. Since I had some time today, I figured I'd come check on you. You doing okay?"

Mu Yu forced a smile: "I'm fine. I just fell by accident. I should be discharged in a couple of days."

Mu Yu couldn't figure out why Wen Yihe had suddenly shown up. This guy had never had much to do with him before.

Besides, Wen Yihe wouldn't even care that Mu Yu was in the hospital, let alone know about it.

But Wen Yihe was from the Wen family. Whatever his purpose, he wasn't someone Mu Yu could afford to cross. At the very least, he had to keep up appearances.

Wen Yihe cut the peeled apple into small pieces and continued:

"Then you really were too careless, but at least there's nothing wrong with your health."

"By the way, I heard that Ji Fengyan has been looking to marry into your Mu family recently."

Mu Yu's smile faded slightly, and he sneered inwardly—finally cutting to the chase.

"Those rumors have been going around lately, but they're just people talking."

Mu Yu said casually, "Besides, my so-called sister is still studying abroad right now. My mother is very protective of her and would never let her be used as a tool for a marriage alliance."

Wen Yihe looked at Mu Yu, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes at his words, before he broke into a smile again.

"You think the person Ji Fengyan wants to marry is your nominal sister?"

Mu Yu asked, puzzled, "Who else?"

Wen Yihe sighed, "Ji Fengyan doesn't like women. The person he wants to marry is your older brother, Mu Jin."

At those words, Mu Yu's expression changed instantly, and the disgust in his eyes was almost tangible.

"Ji Fengyan likes Mu Jin?!"

The Mu family was no longer what it used to be, and naturally couldn't compare to the Ji family. Although the two families still had some cooperation, it wasn't much.

Ji Fengyan had no reason to seek a marriage alliance for the sake of cooperation between the two families, unless it was because he actually liked someone.

When Mu Yu first heard this news, he hadn't received any concrete information, and since his sister's study abroad location happened to be the same place where Ji Fengyan was staying.

Rumors outside speculated that the two of them had met abroad, which was why a marriage alliance was being considered.

Mu Yu had naturally believed this speculation.

But he never expected that the person Ji Fengyan wanted to marry was actually his older brother!

Just thinking about this possibility, the image forming in his mind, a wave of disgust spread through his entire body.

He muttered under his breath, "Absurd, this is absolutely absurd! Two men being together, isn't that disgusting?"

Wen Yihe's expression shifted slightly, his smile fading a bit, but his voice remained gentle as he spoke:

"You can't say that. Who can help it if Ji Fengyan likes him? With his current status and position, he'll be able to establish himself in the country soon enough. Whatever he wants, he can get."

"But if they really end up together, the Mu family would have one more voice to contend with."

"Even if Mu Jin doesn't want to do anything, Ji Fengyan certainly won't give up easily. That's not good news for you."

Wen Yihe sighed softly and handed a plate of apples to Mu Yu.

Mu Yu took the apples from Wen Yihe's hand but didn't eat them. He just looked at him, a smile that didn't reach his eyes on his face.

"Oh, but this doesn't seem to have much to do with you, does it?"

"You came to see me today specifically to tell me all this—are you planning to help me? And what do you want in return?"

"And..."

Mu Yu paused slightly, looking at Wen Yihe with an unreadable expression.

"If I remember correctly, your relationship with Ji Fengyan seems quite close, and you've been collaborating on several projects lately."

Wen Yihe wasn't bothered by Mu Yu's challenge and gave a faint smile:

"Yes, I do consider him a friend, but friendship is friendship, and business is business."

"Mu Yu, you know your brother better than I do."

"He doesn't care about the Mu family in the slightest, but he's capable of returning to the Mu family and easily taking your place."

"Do you think someone as profit-driven as Ji Fengyan would want to pursue your brother right after returning to the country purely out of affection?"

Mu Yu froze, his fingers curling and tightening slightly, his gaze turning dark and unreadable.

He lowered his head, as if assessing the truth of Wen Yihe's words.

Wen Yihe sighed, looking resigned: "I just need a friend who's on par with me, not a rival who outshines me."

"Mu Yu, I don't want the Mu family to become Ji Fengyan's leverage to gain an advantage over my Wen family, understand?"

Mu Yu finally spoke after a long pause: "What do you want me to do?"

Wen Yihe's eyes curved, masking what was in his eyes,

"It's simple. Ji Fengyan does like men. You're just as handsome as your brother, and your father has gradually been giving you more authority."

"Since he wants a marriage of convenience, you could consider it too."

Mu Yu's eyes widened: "Are you insane? You want me to marry a man! I'd never do something so repulsive!"

Wen Yihe's smile gradually faded: "Then you got a better idea?"

"Mu Yu, I need a friend, and that friend could be Ji Fengyan, or it could be you."

"The Mu family could be Ji Fengyan's leverage against the Wen family, and the Ji family could be the stepping stone for the Mu family to stand on equal footing with the Wen family."

Wen Yihe stood up as he spoke, looking down at Mu Yu. Though his tone was gentle, there was a hint of mockery in it:

"Of course, if you really find it disgusting, you could also find a way to make sure Ji Fengyan and your brother never end up together."

"If you have that ability..."

Wen Yihe didn't give Mu Yu a chance to respond, glancing at his watch,

"Alright, I have a gathering tonight."

"My birthday banquet is in a while. I'll have my assistant send you an invitation later. I hope you'll think it over carefully."

Wen Yihe bent down slightly, suddenly leaning closer to Mu Yu, and spoke softly:

"Don't disappoint me... friend."